In Jail Just Visiting
by DoctorWhodunit
Summary: Cana Alberona has been arrested! Why you ask? Sexual harassment! Between natural sassiness and misunderstandings galore, getting herself out of this situation sure is going to be tricky!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!**

 **To start it off (I know I'm late), I thought I would try something different. And yes, writing Cana was something I never thought I'd do but I had _so_ much fun doing it!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"C'mon officeeeer," Cana whined, "release me, please!"

"No," the officer repeated from his chair for the seventh time.

Her complaints could be heard from outside the small town's police station. She had been locked in this low-class cell for only thirty minutes and she was already losing it. Because yes, she did consider it 'low-class', how dare they put her in such a shabby cell? She deserved better.

"It was _not_ sexual harassment," she asserted, squeezing the bars of the cell like a caged animal.

"Yes, it was. Now shut up," he snapped.

Even sitting on his chair with his back turned to her, she could feel his exasperation emanating from all over his body. Well, she has had her fair share of exasperation for the day too, and she wished she could draw cruciform popping veins above her eye just to let him see it.

"Dammit Chief Wiggum, at least give me a chance to exp-"

"Alright!" he blurted, rocketing off his chair and turning his face in her direction. "First of all, Wiggum is such an underrated character, I can't even count the number of people I already said that to." She frowned in confusion at his random statement. Why would he make a comeback on a silly nickname she gave him? "Second of all, want me to explain why it was sexual harassment?"

"Yes, please do," she answered quickly.

He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. "It was rhetorical question, I was gonna do it."

A smirk tugged at her lips. "I know."

His eye twitched, his irritation built up at amazingly fun rate, much to Cana's entertainment. "Then why did you a-"

"So! You're gonna tell me why it was sexual harassment or what?"

Right there. Oh, she lived for those moments. She wished she could stop time just to contemplate the look of utter annoyance in people. She also wished she could stop time to actually draw cruciform popping veins on faces. And she noticed that the officer's face was one of her best works, not only was he irritated (in his defense, he _did_ seem quick-tempered), but there was also a hint of amazement in his eyes due to how quick-witted she was. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and _damn_ was it beautiful to witness. She wanted to draw sparkles in his eyes with indelible ink.

Unfortunately, his irritation seemed to have won over his admiration – if there ever was some, she did tend to overrate her sass sometimes.

"Tch, look kid," he grunted, "I don't have to do this, I could just let ya rot here until someone pays your bail." A toothy smirk appeared on his face then. "But I'm still gonna tell you why, I like your guts," he admitted. There _was_ some admiration after all! "Don't push it though."

She rolled her eyes and, hands on hips, she sighed. "I'm all ears."

He cleared his throat. "Once upon a time," he started, already annoying her, "ten minutes away from this police station, Gajeel Redfox, a highly respected police officer was driving dow-"

" _Ugh._ "

"What now," he complained.

"Sorry." She grinned a distinctly mocking grin. "It's just that your ego is so big I almost choked on it," she snapped, faking a cough.

To her surprise, the officer was not impressed. "Well suck it kid, get used to it," he answered simply.

This comment had her throwing her head back as she roared with laughter. "Wow! Now _that_ was highly suggestive, officer," she winked, "you know you could ironically be the one ending up behind those bars if you go down that road?"

He blinked twice before understanding why she said that, and if he hadn't prided himself in his ability to hide his 'sissy' emotions, he would have blushed. And spluttered. And the latter obviously happened.

"Wh-what the- I'd never imply th- _that_ kind of felony, how dare y-"

"Not _that_ kind of felony?! What kind of felony do you usually imply?!"

"Stop interrupting me!" he roared, unconsciously punching a bar of the cell.

A wince stretching across his face told her that he regretted it immediately.

She snorted. " 'Kay, my bad, please continue."

"Good," he growled. "I'm gonna drop the 'Once upon a time' shit, it's as annoying as you are," he rolled his eyes, "so that's saying something."

"That's not very nice," she retorted, faking a pout.

"You ain't either," he snapped. "Anyway, I was driving down a street, minding my own business – and the business of others 'cause I was on patrol – and that's when I saw it." He paused, and considered her face for a moment, looking for a reaction from the so-called criminal.

"No need for the dramatic pause ya know? I was probably there when _it_ happened."

"Right," he muttered. "On the opposite sidewalk, you grabbed this blonde's breasts from behind and managed to squeeze them for a few seconds. She looked uncomfortable and I could clearly see her blushing. She slapped your hand off her breast and shouted 'No, I can't take it anymore!' and ran away to the nearest train station. I stopped my car and ran to ya, but blondie was already out of sight when I apprehended you." He grinned then, "and well, after that, you know what happened, you lived it after all."

First and foremost, Cana congratulated herself for listening to everything he had to say without interrupting him with snide remarks or bouts of laughter. The hardest one to hold back was when the officer seemed embarrassed when he pronounced the words 'breasts' and 'squeeze'. Then, making an effort at being more empathetic, she could understand why he thought this was sexual harassment. From an outsider's point of view, it would even be normal to jump to this conclusion. Time to come clean.

"Okay, I think there's been a misunderstanding, this girl actually i-"

"Do you ever stop talking?" he interrupted. Again.

"Alright!" she blurted. "How dare you treat _me_ , daughter of Gildarts Clive, in such a disrespectful way?!" she bellowed, sounding like some 16th century English Queen.

He frowned in confusion. "Who dat?"

"My unworthy father!" she claimed.

He wished he had eyebrows so he could let her know how even more confused he was. "And why the hell would that make me want to treat ya better?"

At the moment he asked his question, Cana went from a happy-go-lucky overall facial expression to that of a troubled orphan living under a bridge. She avoided his inquiring gaze with shyness and embarrassment in her eyes and stance, looking down and crossing her arms over her chest.

"My father abandoned us the moment I was born. I lived with my jobless mum for a while until she d-"

"Really now?" he interjected, clearly annoyed.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered, clenching her fist over her heart.

"Ya really gonna pull the 'you just unlocked my tragic backstory that's gonna make you be more empathetic with me' card?"

She didn't move an inch as he nonchalantly brushed off the start of her compelling story. She regarded him with an intense stare, trying to pierce through his cold metal heart. But that didn't work. His only answer was a prolonged blank stare – he might as well have picked his nose while he was at it.

Their showdown lasted a good minute, and the officer didn't seem to even have the ability to give up. She felt like he could stare blankly into space for hours without his life changing at least a little bit.

She pursed her lips then, sheepish. She glanced away, and shrugged. "Meh, 'twas worth a try."

He shut his eyes hard out of annoyance. "Tch, waste o' time," he grunted, turning around to head back to his desk.

She turned her back as well to calm herself down and think things through. Not having the officer's bolted head in her line of sight helped her relax. It helped her at canceling the bad energy energy around her – sucking it in, which could turn out very well or pretty badly depending on situation. She lifted her arms, stretched the soreness out of her back, and took a deep breath. Her eyes widened as she exhaled, and on her face, her cheeks wrinkled to draw a mischievous grin. She found an idea to get herself out of there. She cracked her neck and kicked the ground to turn around again.

"Yo!" she hollered.

"Don't shout!" he snapped, louder. "What now? Can't ya see I'm busy?"

"Nope," she laughed, "can't see that, 'cause you're not. It's a small, peaceful town, and it's freezing outside. Nobody's out to commit mischief in winter, highly respected police officer."

He sighed at her reuse of his self-appointed title. "Got me there, what d'ya want?"

"Well," she bubbled, "we could stay and shout at each other for the next hours or," she suggested, revealing a neatly stacked deck of cards from behind her back, "we could play a little game!"

His eyebrowless eyes raised at the sudden turn of events. "A card game?" he asked in disbelief. Why would she want to play cards now? This question was quickly left unanswered as he blinked hard, realizing something wrong with her inquiry. "Wait a sec', I had one of my policewomen do a body search on you just in case you were carrying something dangerous, all she found was your phone and your wallet. You shouldn't have anything other than your clothes right now, where the hell did you get that from?!"

And she smirked and simply answered, "you _really_ don't wanna know."

Cana really couldn't get enough of his reactions. He coughed hard when he realized what she had just implied and she couldn't help giggling at the sight.

Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat. "Hum, I don't have time for card games."

"Oh c'mon," she complained, "we're alone in this police station, you must be so bored! Besides," she added, thinking it would make him join in on the fun, "it's not just card game. Those are tarot cards," she bubbled, shifting the deck and showing him the faces on the cards," it's fortune-telling!"

"Ugh, I don't believe in that crap," he snorted, failing to repress a giggle of mockery.

"Oh," she sighed in disappointment, "you're scared then, too bad."

"What?!" he shouted, outraged, "I ain't scared, I just don't believe in fortune telling."

"It's okay, officer, it's okay, it can be intimidating to face the unknown, I can't blame you," she told him with a patronizing voice. If she could have patted his shoulder, she _would_ have.

"I'm telling you! I'm not-"

"You are not scared. You just do not believe in fortune-telling," she mimicked, with a slightly more high-pitched voice, smiling.

A burst of annoyance overcame him, again. He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. "It really pisses me off when it comes out of _your_ mouth," he admitted. "I guess I can try, it ain't like something bad's gonna happen."

"Yes!" she rejoiced, clenching her fist in victory. She controlled herself not to say 'ha, so easy' as she faced the cards down and slipped them through the bars of her cell. "Pick a card, then give to me."

The officer sighed. Cana considered him for a second, no matter how fun it was to annoy him, she wondered why he was so quick-tempered, why his character _screamed_ annoyance. The thought disappeared as quickly as it came when she saw him hesitating, considering which card to pick. In the end, he opted for a random card in the middle and gave it to her without looking, as if she was about to do a magic trick. It made her smile.

However, her smile faded instantly when she laid her eyes on the card he picked. She lifted her face and eyed the officer, then looked down again. It lasted a few seconds, but the officer could swear it went on for about a minute. This silence clearly made him uncomfortable, no matter how much he convinced himself that he didn't believe in fortune-telling.

"Given the situation," she started, "something wicked is gonna happen..."

"Wh-what? I ain't buyin' that!"

"To me..."

"W- Oh! Now that's better," he laughed, sighing in relief. "Wait, what does that have to do with me?"

"By your hand..."

"What do you m-"

"It means," she interrupted curtly, "something wicked is gonna happen to me. And it's gonna be your fault. And you're gonna do it intentionally." She sounded grave, and her eyes translated this feeling well. She squinted her eyes full of suspicion as if to scan him, to try to find what horrible thing he could do to her, and her thoughts did not seem pretty.

"I- No! I know I'm the bad guy in your story but I'm past that already, I'm a man of the law now, I'm not gonna do anything wicked or whatever to you!" he claimed. Oddly, she noticed that he appeared to be defending himself not to her, but to the cards.

"Sure," she answered automatically, still squinting her eyes.

"Stop looking at me like that!" he snapped, anger in his eyes. "Your cards are lying, that's why I said it was bullshit in the first place, just get rid of 'em already!" he roared, and in a feat of misplaced and incoherent rage, he slapped her hand away, making the cards fly and fall on the ground before her startled eyes. The hand he slapped hit hard against a metal bar but the pain didn't matter to her. What mattered was her precious stack of cards that got molested to the ground. What mattered was the anger – rage, even, that built up in the core of her body. What mattered was-

A knock.

Someone knocked on the door, at the right or the wrong moment depending on the point of view.

Gajeel was at loss for words. "Hum... I'm s- I'm gonna go get the door," he stuttered, "stay here."

"It ain't like I could go anywhere," she snapped curtly.

He regarded her for just a second and decided not to answer. As the officer walked to the door, Cana knelt down to pick up all the cards she could reach outside the cell.

She took a card between two fingers. "Pick a card, any card," she mumbled as she motioned the launch of her card right in the officer's visible butt crack. This thought amused her.

But as she took another look at the cards scattered on the ground, she noticed something more important than the sheer joy of rocketing a card in the officer's butt crack. The cards were all facing down, except one, the Ten of Swords. The only visible card out of the whole deck was the Ten of Swords.

"...But it's going to backfire," she muttered.

The sound of a rusty opening door made her look up again, and all her bad and revengeful thoughts vanished as she laid her eyes upon the person coming in. Her mouth stretched into a cheerful, relieved smile, and she waved at the newcomer.

"Lucy!"

* * *

 **A/N: So that's it for the first chapter of the fic that (careful, spoiler alert) will probably only be two chapters long x). This is a totally unabashed light-hearted piece, folks! I wrote a Gajevy angst earlier (that I haven't posted yet) and I REALLY needed to write something like this to cheer me up! I hope I didn't butcher Cana's character too much! Leave me a note to tell me what you think? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hi again! Sorry for the delay, I was supposed to write this second and final chapter way sooner but life got me really busy ^^'. I hope it was worth the wait!

Will Lucy save the day?

Will they die?

Will I ever be able to convey suspense and worry in a Humor/Romance short fic?

Find out now!

* * *

The feeling that ran through Cana's body when Lucy's golden hair colour graced her eyes was similar to the one she had when the elevator finally released her after an hour of confinement that led her to pile up in her bladder an unprecedented amount of a concoction she made herself way too early in the morning... but that was another story. At this very moment, all she cared about was that she was finally going to be set free from this hell – well, it might be an exaggeration on her part, she had only been there for less than an hour.

Lucy, who was now temporarily nicknamed 'My Saviour' by Cana, walked directly to the cell her friend was locked in, shocked to be the witness of such an alien sight – she laughed at the thought. They've been in the same school for more than five years, she saw her get in trouble for her unruly attitude and foul mouth more than once. She was always the one who managed to help her get out of whatever problem she ran into. Really, the sight of her in a cell wasn't as alien as she hoped it to be, and she rolled her eyes as she examined her friend from head to toes.

And Gajeel just stood there by the door, baffled by the amount of fucks nobody was giving him.

"What trouble have you got yourself in this time?" Lucy sighed.

It felt as if a lightning bolt hit her and she shook her head fast in disbelief at the horrendous question her 'Saviour' – she might have wanted to reconsider this nickname – dared to ask. Raising her hand to fix her non-existent glasses, Cana took a closer look at her friend, and she grinned.

"You're sweating," she stated.

"And?" she asked, not so sure where she was going with that.

Cana joined her hands together and delight lit up her face. "You ran all the way here for me," she beamed, "you ran all the way here for me because you were worried!" Her smile stretched across her face and she _swooned_ , not at all poking fun at her. She would never do that. Obviously.

Lucy looked away and shut her eyes, annoyed by her blatant at attempt at making fun of her. This was not working. Not this time. She blushed nonetheless. "I wasn't that worried," she said. A friend called her saying that he saw Cana in a police car. Of course she was worried. Being arrested by a police officer was actually something to be legitimately worried about!

Cana waved a dismissive hand at her, and Lucy felt as if her sarcasm came out of it. She hated her guts. "Awn, you're the cutest," Cana said with delight before winking at her.

"Anyway," Lucy said quickly, not giving her a chance to retort with anything else, "why are you here?"

"Sexual harassment," Gajeel chimed in, closing the door with his foot and spinning around to get closer to them. "Should be obvious, shouldn't it?"

Lucy squinted her eyes at the officer who had opened the door for her. She was half-embarrassed because she managed to forget about him the moment she walked in, and half-confused because 'sexual harassment' just didn't sound right.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"What don't ya understand?" he snapped, "The word 'sexual' or 'harassment'?"

She repressed a violent eye roll itch at his stupid question and pushed through. "I know what 'sexual harassment' means, thank you very much." As she said that, she couldn't help but notice that Cana's attitude tended to get to her from time to time and she had a hard time controlling it. "What I'm saying is that I just can't see Cana sexually harassing someone, it has to be a mistake," she asserted. Her tone of voice was calm but inside she was freaking out. She knew Cana, but _that_ was beyond any trouble she had gotten herself into before. Sexual harassment for crying out loud!

"What d'ya mean 'a mistake'? What she did to _you_ was sexual harassment!"

Lucy couldn't have been more wrong when she thought that she couldn't get more confused by what was happening. Apparently, Cana had sexually harassed her, which was unlikely. "That doesn't make sense, Cana can't possib-" She stopped mid-sentence as she met Cana's eyes displaying a sheepish gaze that was currently looking at the ceiling as if it was more important than anything else. Cana's awkward smile as she glanced back at her made her understand. "Oh." This was the only audible sound her mouth could produce, she was too busy blushing and shutting her eyes hard, as if the moment itself would disappear by doing so.

"Th-that wasn't sexual harassment, o-officer," Lucy stuttered in shame.

"Figured." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, disappointed. "Guessin' you two are friends, right?"

Lucy sheepishly nodded as a response.

"Right, maybe I went a little overboard with her," he admitted. He turned his look to Cana's proud smug face as he said that. "But that shitty brat clearly deserved it," he added. Cana just stuck her tongue out as a response. Deciding to ignore her childish yet frustrating attitude, he rolled his eyes, crossed his arms under his chest and focused back on Lucy. "But I gotta ask you a question so she can be released."

"Oh, hum, sure," she said hesitantly.

"Was the boob grabbing consensual?"

His question had Cana throw her head back and she roared with laughter as Lucy's complexion became redder in a matter of seconds.

"Couldn't you have found another way to word this?!" Lucy shrieked.

"I tried, okay?!" he snapped. He rubbed his eyes out of annoyance and sighed. "Ugh, sometimes I wish there was a voice-over narrator in real life, like 'he cleared his throat, trying to find the best and most professional way to ask this delicate question, but much to his chagrin, he couldn't think of anything, so he decided to ask bluntly.' ya know? This way, ya woulda known that I tried and you wouldn't have shouted at me like that!"

…

Deafening silence lingered in the air as the girls' clueless faces stared blankly at the officer. He scratched the back of his hand and shut his eyes as he processed what he had just said. He cursed under his breath, making a mental note to tell his wife not to read her books out loud. He looked up again and prayed the heavens above not to be subjected to another snide remark from Cana.

"Officer," Cana chuckled.

God dammit.

"It's called an inner thought for a reason, you gotta keep inside."

" _Anyway_ ," he said, brushing off her remark, still wondering why he had to share this thought out loud, "you gotta answer my question. If it wasn't consensual, it was sexual harassment. If it was consensual, it wasn't sexual harassment. As simple as that."

Lucy bit her lip and gave Cana the side-eye full of irritation and blame. Lucy always had some talent for five minute rants through two seconds of eye contact. Cana tried to smile it off but Lucy's eye roll blatantly told her that she failed. Unfortunately, Lucy didn't have much choice in this situation.

"Y-yes, it was consensual," she admitted.

"That settles it then, I'll release ya." He watched Cana's face light up at the idea of freedom, and he smirked. He pointed at Lucy and added, "But before that, blondie, ya comin' with me, got somethin' to tell ya."

Lucy's eyes squinted shared a concerned look with Cana, but she didn't seem to be fazed by any of it, thinking that it probably was something to do with paperwork.

"Hum, sure."

And a few seconds later, Gajeel and Lucy were out of the room, leaving only Cana in. She stretched her arms and used the time she had to collect the rest of her cards that had fallen on the floor earlier. She had already forgotten how furious she got when the officer slapped the cards away from her hand as if that were going to change her predictions. She shook her head and laughed at the thought.

She slipped her deck of cards in her back pocket when the officer and Lucy came back in the room. He kept his face devoid of emotion as he made a beeline to Cana's cell. He fished in his pocket, stuck a key out of it, and proceeded to open the door.

Stepping out of the cell, Cana hummed and took a deep breath. "Smells like freedom!"

"Smells like teen cheap deodorant if you ask me," Gajeel retorted. "Anyway, you're free but we ain't done yet."

Cana raised an eyebrow as he looked for something in his desk drawer. What did he mean by that? Nobody got harmed, all was well, why wouldn't it be over?

"Ah, found it," he rejoiced, showing her a blank sheet of paper.

What is it?" Cana asked, "Is that for a report or something?"

"Nah, let me explain." Cana gave him an understanding yet confused nod and he continued. "Even though what ya did wasn't sexual harassment according to your friend's testimony, it was still public indecency. I'll have you know that a new law has been made recently regarding this matter, and today will be the first time that this law is enforced in this town." He snorted, "I guess ya could be proud, but that ain't really somethin' you wanna brag about. It's simple, it's called The Contract of Advantages, and-"

"What a-"

"-lame-ass name for a law, I know," he cut off curtly, knowing that she was going to react. Cana bit her lip in frustration, it wasn't often that one of her comebacks could be so easily read. "It's as simple as its name," he continued, "it gives advantages to the victim, in this case, _absolutely not you at all_." He looked behind him and asked, "ya ready?"

"Yes!" Lucy affirmed.

Cana hadn't paid much attention to Lucy when they came back in the room, but now that she got a closer look at her, she could notice a devilish grin stretched across her face. Cana gulped.

"Rule #1?" Gajeel asked, pen in hand, paper on desk, ready to write.

"Cana Alberona will not be able to curse for two weeks," Lucy stated, licking her bottom lip with contempt.

"What the f-"

"Watch it, kid," Gajeel interrupted before she could already break the law again.

Cana glared at Lucy and reformulated her question. "What's that all about?!"

Gajeel snorted. "Public indecency is a level 3 felony, that means she'll give you three rules you'll have to abide by," Gajeel stated. "Rule #2?"

"How dare y-"

"Cana Alberona will have to stay 10 meters away from Laxus for a month."

"What now?!" Cana shrieked, outraged by the turn of events she had no control over. "You're just punishing me at this point! How is that an advantage for you anyway? What did Laxus ever do to you?"

"Rule #3?"

They were totally ignoring her, and Cana thought she had reached her limit.

"Cana Alberona will not be able to drink any alcoholic beverage for two months."

 _Now_ , she had reached her limit. That was the last straw. A dark and dreadful aura surrounded her, an aura that would make any human being blessed with logic recoil backwards. Her fingers tensed, her fists clenched, and her arms trembled due to the ominous fury piling up inside of her. The blood pumping through her veins ran faster, making her cheeks boil out of rage. She cracked her fingers and smacked the door of her cell with the palm of her hand. The noise the shutting door made would even have startled her if she wasn't so focused on the matter at hand.

"Now you've done it, Lucy Heartfilia," she said in a low voice, "you know there's one thing you can't touch, and you decided not to only touch it, you grabbed it with your filthy hands and threw it in the dirt! How _dare_ you do _this_ to _me_? How _dare_ y-"

"Chill."

Gajeel's voice somehow managed to easily blink her out of her trance. Watching her come back to her senses and glancing repeatedly at both Lucy and himself made him snort. And he snorted again. And again. Until this series of light breathy laughs became a full-fledged roar of laughter that had him bent over with his arms supporting his ribcage and pressing against his tensed abs.

"Tch, now _that_ is being dramatic. What's so funny?"

The 'gihihi's slowly faded away as Gajeel regained his composure and started to have a have a steady breathing again. He ran a finger under his eye to wipe a tear that had dripped down his face. Dramatic indeed.

"Damn," he exhaled, "haven't had that much fun in a while! It's a pity I had to break now, could've gone with it a little longer, huh, blondie?"

Lucy smirked. "I think she had enough."

Cana's eyes widened as understanding dawned on her, quickly followed by annoyance when she rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily. "It was all made up wasn't it?"

Gajeel snapped his fingers. "Damn right." He laughed again, he was genuinely having fun.

"So I'll still be able to drink alcohol?" she asked bluntly.

Lucy couldn't help but smile a little bit at that. But she facepalmed anyway. Gajeel glanced at Lucy with disbelief in his eyes.

"Is she even aware that as a minor she's not supposed to tell me that she drinks alcohol?"

Lucy shook her head and sighed, "I don't even know to be honest."

"She really needs to think before she speaks."

"She really does."

"Sh-"

"Oy! I'm _right here_ , don't 'she' me!" Cana blurted, annoyed by their silly banter and blatant attempt at ignoring her.

"Gihi, calm down kid, we're done," he said, repressing another bout of laughter. "What was the thing you said again?" he asked with a cheeky smile. "'Given the situation, something wicked is going to happen to me… by your hand', huh? Turns out you were right, I did something wicked to you," he admitted, actually praising her on her prowess. "It was basically a prank though," he added.

Cana blinked in disbelief. _Really?_ She snorted. "Oh that? That was fake, that wasn't actually fortune-telling, that's not how it works, I just wanted some distraction," she said casually.

Gajeel's jaw dropped to the floor, and Cana didn't waste any time to roast him.

"Ya got pretty amped up there, didn't ya?" she teased. "'I don't believe in fortune-telling' my ass, that crap's all an act," she laughed. She promptly arched her chest and flexed her biceps and, like a gorilla, she grunted, "'I'm a big grown ass tough guy and I ain't afraid o' nothing'"

"Oy!" Gajeel cut off, "watch yer tongue kid I never said that!"

Cana grinned, put her hands on her hips, threw her head back and laughed proudly. "Taste of your own medicine."

He watched her go on with her boisterous bout of laughter as she grabbed her purse that was on his desk, and it took him only a few seconds to laugh along with her. He hadn't had that much fun in _years_. He didn't say it openly but, even though it was probably just a one time thing, he was glad he met her, she saved him from his boring routine.

"Damn, feels like April Fool's Day," he snorted, "we played each other well, that was fun."

Cana rubbed her nose with her thumb then. "Yup, I'll give you that."

And it felt as if eye contact alone was enough for them to see that they would be in sync, for like a glass, they mirrored each other's toothy grin and stuck their fingers out of their pocket to vigorously shake each other's hand. The fire of competition and mischievousness blazing in their eyes told them that maybe it wasn't just a one time thing, because let's be honest, Cana knew about her unconscious tendency to get in trouble; it wasn't going to be her only visit in a police station. She knew she would run into him again someday. And other days, probably.

"All's well that ends well," Lucy whispered, in a voice-over narrator kind of way.

"Looks like it," Gajeel sighed, "by the way, blondie, good job picking up on the fact that it was fake!"

Cana flicked her head back to Lucy. "Wait? He hadn't told you?!"

Lucy smiled sheepishly and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't sweat the small stuff," she said, clearing her throat. " _Anyway_ , we should go now!"

"Right," Gajeel answered quickly, deciding not to let these two argue in front of him. They were fun, but there was only so much he could bear. "Before you go though, can I ask ya somethin'?"

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

"Not like it matters or anything but," he started, scratching the back of his neck, "when I arrested ya, blondie shouted 'I can't take it anymore!', what had she had enough of?" This question had been on his mind for quite a while and the stubborn side of him would have never forgiven him if he hadn't even tried to ask.

"Misunderstanding again," Cana chortled, "it wasn't a 'I've had enough of that!' kind of thing, it was literal. She couldn't take what I wanted her to take," she answered simply.

"And what was it?" he ultimately asked.

Cana shot a daring glare at Lucy and grinned. "My underw-"

"NOTHING!" Lucy shrieked, almost diving to push her hand on Cana's mouth. Judging by her eyes and the way her growing smirk felt on her hand, Cana seemed to be pleased by her reaction. Lucy glared at her as if to say 'I'll get you later' and looked back at the confused officer. She waved her hands riddled with denial in front of him. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing," she said hastily. "And why are you asking her anyway? Why not directly me? I'm the one who said that." She glanced back at Cana and took her hand to drag her out of there, keeping her head down so as not to show her flushed cheeks. "Anyway, we have to go now, goodbye officer!"

And with that, she opened the door and trudged out of the room with a reluctant Cana holding her hand, leaving a baffled and amused Gajeel in the room.

They passed a gorgeous white-haired woman down the corridor leading to the exit, and Cana smirked and winked at her, earning just a respectful smile in response; she was the policewoman who had done a body search on Cana before she led her to her cell.

"Hey, kid!" Gajeel's deep grunting voice echoed in the corridor as they were about to walk out of the police station. Something in his voice made Cana stop to listen; she felt that his voice had taken a more serious tone. She heard him clear his throat. "Sorry about… ya know, your backstory, your father and all that."

Cana froze for a second, she never thought he would believe her. Her eyes furrowed and she looked down. She felt in his voice a mix of uneasiness, sincerity, and… understanding. A silence followed and ultimately, a light lopsided smile appeared on her face. She didn't turn around when she answered.

"Y'gotta used to it at some point," she sighed fondly, loud enough for Gajeel to hear.

He watched them walk out of the police station and snorted. "Tell me about it," he muttered, closing the door to go and focus on some boring paperwork.

"Phew, that was a close call," Lucy sighed as they closed the door behind them. "You didn't have to try and tell him about me keeping your underwear," she scolded. "It's not like this police officer _needs_ to know!"

Cana winked at her. "Payback for those cruel 'rules' you decided to punish me with."

"The whole thing was fake!" she defended.

"He hadn't even told you!" Cana retorted. "Ya thought it was true and ya decided to forbid me from drinking and talking to Laxus. What did Laxus have to do with that anyway?"

"I figured it was fake," Lucy answered confidently.

Cana raised an eyebrow. "And why was it fake, Detective Heartfilia?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at this new nickname. "Because he wrote on a stupid blank piece of paper ripped out of a cheap copybook, that's why," she snapped. "I don't really know how the police works but that clearly didn't look official to me."

Cana pursed her lips and raised both of her eyebrows. "Touché," she admitted. "Anyway, let's go now, it's freezing."

And she just started to walk without waiting for Lucy who was obviously expecting more praise from her friend, but her pride clearly stopped herself from doing it.

"Ugh, you could at least wait for me," Lucy complained, catching up with her with longer steps. She waited for a witty answer but she didn't get anything. Her eyes furrowed as she watched Cana looking up above as she walked. For a moment, the sky fascinated her – well, not really the sky.

"I had almost forgotten it was snowing," Cana breathed. Her voice sounded sweet to Lucy's ears, as if she had brought back a nice memory from her childhood.

"Snow's pretty cool, isn't it?" Lucy beamed.

"Did you just make a pun?"

Lucy blinked. "I… did, apparently."

Cana snorted and looked back up at the sky. A lopsided smile painted her face and Lucy could swear that her eyes _glittered_ as she watched the snowflakes fall.

"Ya know?" she started, blinking Lucy out of her fascination for Cana's eyes, "I don't know if it's because I spent most of my childhood on my own watching TV and anime, but I always felt like in Japan, whatever season you were in, it could snow." She remembered the sleepless nights she allowed herself when her almost non-existent distant family members were not home to keep her safe. She laughed at the thought and glanced at Lucy. "As long as the moment is important or dramatic enough, snow is always welcome!" She laughed then, aware of how silly it sounded as it came out of her mouth.

Lucy looked up at the sky then, wonder filled her eyes as her mind wandered around the idea. To Cana, she just looked like she was ignoring her or trying to find something else to talk about, because snow clearly wasn't all that interesting.

"Meh, don't mind m-"

"You know?" Lucy interrupted, deep in thought. "Snow is white."

"I knew that."

"Bear with me."

"Okay."

"You know how white represents death here in Japan, right?" Cana simply nodded. "Maybe that's why they make it snow in dramas and anime," Lucy suggested.

"I don't get it," Cana replied bluntly, "they don't necessarily do it when somebody dies."

Lucy smiled faintly. "Death doesn't always have to be literal," she explained. "It could be the death of the person you were before the snow started falling, or _as_ the snow is falling, something in you that died or that got replaced by something else thanks to the person you were bonding with. The nice thing with a bonding experience is that it doesn't have to be obvious, when it's happening, it might seem trivial to a stranger, but the characters know, somehow. They know that it's nothing trivial, but no voice-over narrator would be able to accurately convey this moment." She sighed fondly as she stretched her arm out, giving some snowflakes the chance to fall into the palm of her hand. "Maybe that's why the snow is there, to let the audience know…"

She let her sentence linger in the air, it felt more like a question than an actual affirmation. Noticing Cana's silence a few seconds after she spoke, she wasn't sure if what she said made sense. Lucy lazily waved a dismissive hand then.

"But I'm just speculating," she said hastily, "maybe I'm reading too much into it."

"Makes enough sense to me," Cana answered simply, I would never have begun to try to think about that," she admitted.

Lucy showed a toothy grin as a response to the praise she was given. "I'm studying to be a writer someday, gotta look for symbolism everywhere," she beamed. Her smile was always the brightest whenever someone mentioned books or writing in general. _Her passion is as shiny as her golden hair_ , Cana sometimes thought.

"Yeah… seriously though, we still gotta talk about the rules you wanted to punish me with!"

Lucy's eyes widened and rolled. "Ugh, quit it already, can't you move on?" she complained. "I knew it was fake!"

"It was still cruel, ya deserve to be punished!" she claimed. Her eyes lit up with a hint of lust and mischief to them, and she started fidgeting as her hands got closer to her prey.

But she stopped.

"Was about to do it again," she snorted. "Ya think I should stop doing that?"

"Do what?" Lucy asked, confused.

"The boob grabbing, as Officer Redfox says," answered, laughing at the mere thought of him.

Lucy rubbed her finger against her lips and took her time before answering. Cana didn't really think it was that necessary to think this through, but then again, it was Lucy, she was used to it.

"Up to you," Lucy said ultimately, "just, you know, avoid doing that in _the middle of the street_ , in _broad daylight_." She glanced at her and added, "apart from that, you can do whatever you want," she admitted with slightly flushed cheeks, "can't say I dislike it."

A toothy grin stretched across Cana's face but she didn't answer and, thanks to a mute agreement, they went on walking.

They walked side by side on the white sidewalk, and each snowflake falling felt like a kiss from heaven. They didn't talk for a while, too busy appreciating the crispy sound of their boots in the snow, the tiny mist their breath created as they shivered in unison, and the feeling of a shoulder brushing the other because of the natural need for their body to look for the closest heat source.

After a little while, the distance between them became so small that Cana casually wrapped her arm around her shoulder, keeping her close in this warm embrace. Lucy smiled fondly as she watched Cana's hand dangle above her chest, brushing it from time to time. Lucy wrapped her arm around her hip and left her hand there, tapping it with her fingers every once in a while, making her shiver in light laughter. Nobody was in the street this evening, one of them could show how much they cared for the other in a more straightforward and candid way. Instead of being obvious, they just decided to catch a glimpse of each other, and they simply smirked. That was all they had to do, because they knew. And the snow kept on falling, as white as ever.

"So you're jealous of Lax-"

"Oh for heaven's sake don't spoil our moment!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Aaaand there you go! Internet trolls are nothing compared to this trio! I hope you enjoyed how it turned out! Tell me what you think, maybe? :)


End file.
